MERALCO kicks off its championship bid when it battles Converge in the main game of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Bolts will be parading new import in Marvin Jones, a seven-foot reinforcement, who is coming off a 2025 FIBA Europe Cup championship.
Jones will be leading the Bolts’ charge in their 7:30 p.m. collision with the FiberXers.
The 32-year-old Jones is taking the spot of Ismael Romero, the team’s import since the East Asia Super League, who drew the ire of Filipino netizens later, for kicking ex-PBA guard Nick Demusis on the face during the Dubai International Basketball Championships last January.
The 6-foot-10 Romero served as one of Libyan club Al Ahli Tripolo’s reinforcements in the tournament while going up against Demusis’ Zamboanga Valientes.
Meralco eventually parted ways with Romero, paving the way for Jones who comes in with vast overseas experience after playing in Greece, Slovenia, Spain, and Montenegro.
Meralco also welcomes the entry of wingman Javee Mocon, whom the team recently acquired in a three-team trade, along with the anticipated debut of rookie guard Jason Brickman.
The Bolts face a FiberXers side, that just last Sunday suffered an embarrassing 111-100 overtime loss to the surprise leader Terrafirma Dyip.
Converge, tipped as a tournament favorite, opened the conference with a 102-94 beating of the Macau Black Knights.
Meanwhile, Terrafima will be shooting for a rare 3-0 start when it battles Blackwater at 5:15 p.m.
Dyip coach Ronald Tubid attributed the team’s 2-0 start to the solid practice the team is having, which is now being translated to the games.
“Now we’re enjoying practice, we’re excited to practice, we’re doing good in practice it’s being translated to the games,” shared Tubid.
Meanwhile, Blackwater got off to a bad start for the conference following its 81-84 loss to NLEX last Friday.